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 Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2017 10:59 am
Evan had made a mistake.
Which was pretty normal, but this one was hanging over his head in the way that the setting sun was not. Usually he was very conscientious of his time and he made sure he had everything arranged as best he could so that he was home before too late in the afternoon.
Evan did not like being out when the sun began to set, and now it was already touching the horizon. And his phone was dead, because he’d been the fool who left it on an app while he ran his errands and, at only one percent, he’d lost battery before he’d had time to text for help.
So, he was on his own, hoping he could make it to the bus stop before it got too dark. He didn’t want to sit and wait alone, but at least it was a public place and bad things didn’t usually happen in public places.
But they did happen at night.
He sucked in a breath and tried to will himself to walk with a little more confidence. The messenger bag at his side was full of things he’d picked up while running errands and while it was heavy, it wasn’t unbearably so. It would be if he had to carry it all home, but he was trying to stay optimistic.
The bus stop was maybe ten minutes away, and he had fifteen minutes before it was supposed to pull in. If he missed this stop, he could either wait twenty minutes for the next one, or try to beat it to the next stop.
Or he could power up and run home if it got too dark.
There were options. He had to remind himself that he was a Super Senshi and he could probably make it home okay.
Maybe.
Anxiety swam in his stomach and he picked up the pace while trying not to look too obvious; obvious people always made easy targets. He hadn’t seen anyone else around—for better or worse—but he was trying to both tune out all his fears and use his paranoia to stay hyper vigilant.
In the end, he’d just given himself anxiety and a headache, and now his calves were sore from power walking.
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Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 10:30 pm
Airi's ears twitched as he trotted after the small creature he was chasing. Though as the creature darted around the corner and into the streets of the city, Airi lost sight of it. This seemed to be his new routine now... Chasing whatever small animal that crossed his path till he got bored. Anything to avoid both the Rift, and Fangite's house. He sighed, as he paced restlessly back and forth at the edges of the alley, debating on whether he should stick to the shadows or not. After a moment, he huffed and walked out onto the city streets. If he was spotted, he could just play it off like he was someone's lost dog. Not that it seemed to matter anyway. Even if he was caught by the humans or a senshi found him, Airitech would be able to wiggle his way out of things.
His ears flattened against his skull, and the youma huffed again in irritation.
Fangite probably wouldn't even notice if he was in trouble. Which was ironic... given a few things. One of the few people who ever paid attention to him, had disappeared to who knew where. Another practically ignored him when he was around. And the other? Well..
Airi paused, ears twitching as he listened to the city around him. Perhaps he should to to the park again? Find a shadowy corner and just... wait things out. No. He'd spent to much time doing that already. In fact, he had wasted time. There were things he should have done. People he should of talked to. But he didn't. All because he was scared.
A funny notion, he thought. Youma probably shouldn't feel scared, or know what terror was but he did. And he didn't like it. Airi scowled, thinking back. The youma was to busy, thinking that he wasn't paying attention. So he didn't notice when someone drew close.Kyuseisha no Hikari HEY LOOK IM NOT A TOTAL ******** UP
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Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2017 7:42 pm
Evan continued to move at a quick pace, and just because he was trying to be aware of his surroundings didn’t mean he was immediately able to identify that there was a creature right in front of him. Airi had come out of the alleyway and the shadows seemed to cling to him; it was a pure fluke that the light of the setting sun caught Evan’s eye just enough that he had to raise his hand to block the brightness.
And he’d walked right into Airi.
With a startled yelp, Evan wound up with mess of tangled limbs as he tripped over Airi and wound up sprawled on the ground.
His heart was already pounding in his chest and, startled, he’d tried to push himself away from the beast he’d run into, clearly expecting the worst. A dog or youma, running into any creature could wind up putting him in more pain than he wanted to be in.
He watched the creature expectantly, as if he expected to be attacked—only to pause.
He stopped scooting away, stopped trying to clutch at his bag, and squinted. “Airi?”
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Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2017 9:09 pm
Airi yelped loudly as something crashed into him, which was followed by a second yelp in response to the noise that had emanated from whatever he'd hit. He grunted as a knee jabbed him in the side, as he tried to get out of the tangled mass of limbs he'd seem to become. Once free, Airi shook his body with a huff. Great. Just great. He'd been spotted sooner then he'd planned on. Faaaantastic. So the question was, was he about to get his a** kicked, or he about to play the role of lost dog?
He was not, of course, expecting his name to be called, of all things.
Airi turned, blinking at the human at the ground. Wait... "Evan?" Well that was awkward. A surprise mind you, but still awkward. "Wha- what are you doing out here?" Airi could have sworn Evan had said he didn't like being out at dark. "Are you alright? I'm sorry." He said, ears swiveling back and giving Evan a sheepish look. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I was a bit... distracted with a few things." A few, was an understatement. "How have you been?"
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Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2017 7:04 am
“I’m fine,” Evan blurted, though it was difficult to tell if he was being honest or was just used to repeating the phrase. He seemed a bit shaken but his nerves were smoothing over rapidly. Though he glanced around nervously, as if he expected something was going to jump out and try to really scare him, he returned his attention to the youma before him.
“I was on my way to the bus stop,” he answered. “I didn’t mean for it to get so dark, but I forgot about Daylight Saving’s Time, so my mental clock is all messed up. And my phone’s dead,” he gestured to his bag almost helplessly. “Otherwise I would have just called Cambria and this wouldn’t have been a problem at all.”
He gathered his bag close and pushed himself to his feet. “Um, how have you been? And, uh…What’s…what’s been distracting you?”
He wasn’t going to make it to the bus stop; that was obvious. He might not have felt extremely confident around youma, but at the very least he knew Airi wasn’t going to hurt him—and probably wasn’t going to let anything else hurt him, if it came down to it. He didn’t want to be rude and just run away; their last meeting hadn’t gone so splendidly, but Evan still had dreams about Airi. He still remembered the time they’d spent together, down in the Rift.
Even if he tried to forget all of those memories—tried to block out the time in his life when he was a monster…At least most of the memories that had Airi weren’t bad.
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Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2017 8:30 pm
One of Airi's ears twitched, swiveling backwards at Evan's blurt. He shifted awkwardly, unsure what to do.
"Oh. I could walk with you to the bus stop if you want? Or home, if you didn't want to wait in the dark longer." The youma tilted his head curiously. "Day..light savings time?" Airi glanced towards the sky, confused. "...What is Daylight savings time? Is... that the thing where Fangite mess with the clocks?? I've seen him do that once or twice in the past, but I never knew what for."
Airi grew quiet, mulling over words. "I've been... better." He mumbled quietly. "Things have happened. I thought they would be for the better, but now I'm wondering if things have just been made worse." Natron was acting strange. Fangite... well Fangite had been a mess before Natron was found, but things seemed to have escalated tenfold. The youma shook his head with a quiet snort. "People... Mostly. I've been doing a lot of people watching, since our last encounter. I've been trying to learn from them and see if I can understand them better. I've met a few people, and gotten into a few things.. But it's all just left me confused. I feel like I understand less then I did before I started all this..."
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Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2017 4:04 pm
Evan was quiet for a moment, considering both Airi’s offer and his answer. He was almost certain that he was going to miss the bus, but he recalled that Cambria had been alarmed at the idea of a youma knowing where they lived. He couldn’t blame her; if Airi lurked outside, he might easily realize that there were two Senshi and a Knight living in the house, and he didn’t want to put anyone in danger.
“The bus stop, I could use company. I’ll have to wait for the next one,” he answered after a few seconds of debate. He had pushed himself up and began to brush himself off, but glanced at Airi again.
“It sounds like you’ve got a lot going on.
“What’s going on with the people in your life? I don’t know if I’ll be any help to you, but if there’s anything I can help explain or help you understand, I can try. I mean, if you want. Since we’ve got time, too,” he added, fumbling with the strap of his bag while he waited. He seemed ready to start heading towards the bus stop but wanted to make sure that Airi was situated before he resumed his trek.
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Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2017 8:23 pm
"It may sound like it, but there's nothing going on." Airi mumbled, moving to fall in line with Evan. "Lead the way."
"Fangite found Natron. Natron was my first Captain, but an incident happened years ago where our bond was broken. Natron was caught in the cross fire and got stuck, quite literally, between a rock and a hard place for a few years. Neither Fangite nor myself even realized he was still alive. But now that he's back with us, he's acting strange. Almost as if he's possessed. His personality is twisted. He's crueler then normal and is saying things and acting in ways he never would have before. He avoids me like I'm a plague. When he manages to tolerate my presence long enough he looks at me like I'm something to be extinguished. I am... scared, to be honest. And that is something I haven't felt since.." Airi sighed, letting the words die in his throat. "Well, let's just agree you can probably guess when the last time I was scared was..."
"Fangite's gone rogue." He continued. "I don't know where he is, and given I can't spend all day on the surface world, I think he waits out my time till he has to go back to the rift so I can't get a read on him. I think he's panicking. He doesn't know what to do and I can't blame him for it. He feels just as useless as he did before he found Natron, if not more so." A bird darted a lamp post into the night over head and Airi flinched at the sound.
"So... I've just been... roaming the city, I guess." A dangerous concept, and he knew that. "I don't know how many hours, mornings, afternoons, nights, just sitting in a shadow watching people... I don't understand it. Most of the time they don't even notice me. I've had a senshi or two cross my path sure, but..." Airi sighed again. "I don't know. When they do, depending on how I look, I'm either this monstrous thing, or I'm someone's pet to take home. And that's assuming I don't run into some lowlife who think's it's smart to terrorize animals." Airi was one to talk, considering what he'd been doing before running into Evan. "I've found that... it is a bit easier to observe people without bones jutting out along my back and being as big as a horse... Although, I'm finding that some don't mind it. Children, small ones, don't entirely seem to mind. I wonder if it is because they are too young to understand? So they just think I am some dog, despite my size."
Airi shrugged, almost listlessly. "I've learned other things, like how adults seem to live off of coffee or tea. That, come the end of October, they will go out of their way to scare themselves?? Halloween is strange. But the biggest thing I realized, is that I wronged you, and broke my promise."
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Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 8:12 am
Evan began to lead the way with tentative steps as he glanced between the environment and Airi. He was quiet as he listened Airi as he spoke. There was a decent amount to take in so he kept his mouth closed and tried to process it all.
He tilted his head when Airi finished speaking. “Wronged me?” he asked, straining his mind to remember what promise Airi had made to him. He shrugged after a second. “I’m sure whatever you did’s not so bad. I’m not mad at you or anything, if that makes you feel any better. But I’m worried about you.”
His walking was slow, partially because there was no rush and partially because he didn’t want anyone to see them talking. If they didn’t know about youma, they’d see a talking dog. If they did know about youma, he didn’t want to deal with what they must think of him.
“I don’t know Natron, I’ve never met him or anything.” He didn’t think, at least, but judging how he sounded now he was pretty sure that it was a good thing they’d never met. “I know Fangite, though. And you.”
His eyes found Airi again. “You don’t have to be a dog or a monster or anything, you know. You could be like me. It’s nicer this way. Or, at least, I think it is. You don’t have to listen to anyone’s orders, you can go wherever you want, whenever you want. You can eat things. You don’t have to hurt people. You have hands.” He held out his hands and wiggled his fingers. “If you were human, I could cook for you and you could actually enjoy it. And you wouldn’t have to be afraid.”
Evan wasn’t a good salesman; he didn’t know how to pitch purification beyond selling it as the best thing that could ever happen to a youma. He couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to be stuck where Airi was. He reached out a hand to gently rub the youma’s head.
“Maybe we could help Fangite, too. If Natron’s being so scary and all, you should get away from him before he hurts you. They do that, in the Negaverse. They lose control sometimes. They start doing all these awful things, and one day it doesn’t matter who they have to hurt, they do it and they don’t feel bad about it. I don’t want that to happen to you or anyone you care about. I just don’t like Metallia or the Negaverse or Chaos in general. I hated how it made me feel, I hated what I saw. I hate that people get stuck in there and think it’s the only thing they can do.”
He was quiet for a moment and then ruffled Airi’s hair again. “…I want to help. You kept me safe for so long. I want to repay you for that. Why are you staying with the Negaverse, anyway? Aside from Fangite, I mean.”
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Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2017 9:03 pm
"By all accounts, I broke into your home Evan. How is that not bad?" But that was besides the point. "I didn't realize how bad I was making things back then. I had scared you pretty badly, and didn't even stop to think. I was just excited to see you again, I didn't consider any consequences that might have had on you. Then you started talking about how youma were things and monsters... And at that point it kind of hit me that I was hurting you buy being there. I was bringing up things you were trying to move past and forget and I pulled them all back to your attention." Airi's head dropped, as if he was sulking. "... So I ran. After everything was said and done, I ran. I was... afraid to cross paths with you again almost. For the first time, I was scared of myself. I can only imagine what you might have thought when you first saw me. I didn't want to hurt you again like I had. Hurting you was the last thing I ever want to do to you. I thought maybe... If I could learn from the humans, maybe that would help things between us... But I messed up there too. I was away to long."
"I promised to protect you, and that I wouldn't leave you. I did both. What kind of friend does that???"
Airitech nodded slightly. "Natron... was in crystal during your... ah, time. He was in a cave, miles from ours in the rift. Neither of us new." Airi huffed, ears flattening. "You are not the first person to say that. That I can be like you. But I don't know how to be anything other than me. And technically, I could be able to eat things now, without getting violently ill, if certain things are added to it but we're going to avoid that..." Airi muttered, then threw Evan a scandalized look. "I have thumbs! ...When I shift anyway. Not so much this form but.." Eh. Technicalities. "Don't I basically already do whatever I want? I don't think Fangite likes ordering me around... Avoids it if he can."
"Fangite won't go without me. I can already tell you that. For as stupid as it sounds, he swears this up and down. I think something happened once... He talks about dreams and nightmares where he was someone else. He says I was there too, but something happened and our bond was lost. Now he's paranoid about anything happening to me, or leaving me." Whatever that should mean. "...Natron wasn't always like this... I know you've had bad experiences with the Negaverse, but Fangite and Natron are good people..." Most of the time. "As for right now... I try to avoid Natron when I can. I wear the collar a lot, to the point where its effects begin to bleed off, or I need to return to the Rift.
Airi fell silent at the question, before shrugging slightly. "...It's all I've ever known. I don't remember being human, if I ever was one to begin with. Right now, what do I have with Order and Senshi? Other then you?"
Did Airi really even have Evan?
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Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2017 6:15 pm
Evan was quiet for a moment as he listened, taking in everything Airi had said. At the end, he asked, “But what do you have with the Negaverse? Fangite and Natron are just pawns of Metallia, and she could do anything she wants with them at any time. And you too, probably. They don’t care about you in the Negaverse. I mean, not even just you specifically, but anyone.”
He’d heard all about it; of course he’d asked questions when he was more stable and he was all too happy to repeat them if they could change Airi’s mind. “I mean, just because you don’t remember doesn’t make it a bad thing. But I heard that all youma used to be human, and I mean,” he shrugged. “…That means you were someone before this. Don’t you want to know who that was? Who you are? I mean,” he shrugged again, this time a bit more meekly. “I want to know. If you were human again, we could go do things. Like hang out, and I wouldn’t sometimes get confused and afraid of you. Not that that’s your fault,” he insisted, raising a hand to his temple.
“It’s just up here. I have a lot of problems. Well, I had. I think I’m getting better, now, but some things just keep sticking. But I’m a work in progress.” He didn’t seem so ashamed, so horrified, about the whole thing like he had earlier. “And if you were human, I wouldn’t have to worry about you so much. I think about it, about you getting dusted? Or living in the Rift?”
Evan shuddered. “If you were human, I could just text you when I was worried about you.”
He was quiet for a second and then sighed. “I mean, you and Fangite both should look into it. I know it’s probably hard, and scary, but. Don’t you get tired of being scared all the time anyway? Wondering if Metallia’s going to send you on a suicide mission, or if Fangite’s going to lose himself to the Chaos, or if one day you’re going to wake up feeling less and less like yourself until you’re just like all those brainless youma that used to give us a hard time? I mean…”
Evan’s voice tapered off and he shrugged. “Do you worry about those things or is it just me?”
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Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2017 10:52 am
size=11] ”People, on either side is all I seem to have. And even that, doesn’t seem to be much these days. As it stands, I'm currently a youma. Wouldn't people have a hard time trusting me?" Airi huffed quietly. “I know you don’t like my life here but it’s still something, isn’t it?” Something was still better than nothing. But, at what cost?
“No bad… No. Just difficult. If I was human, I couldn’t tell you. There’s no way of knowing how long I’ve been a youma.” He sighed, casting Evan a tired glance. “What if I can’t adapt to it. I know I can act human like if I shift but that doesn’t mean I could pull it off completely.” What if he messed up? “You know… I think I understand you a little bit more now. It’s scary to picture yourself as something you’re not. Scarier still to realize you are that thing… Or I suppose in my case, could be that thing. I am sorry, if I ever scared you or pushed you to do something thwt made you uncomfortable during your time with me.” He tilted his head, brushing it against Evan gently. “Truely.”
“As for who I am… I am Airitech. Be it ‘the youma’ or ‘the human’. What I am should not define me, correct? I have always seen those things as their own. You see Fangite and see the Negaverse. I see Fangite… and just see Fangite. His quirks, his flaws… I see… Him.That muse sound farfetched but, it’s the truth. That is why I said I knew you that night. Yes, I don’t know all about you. You were right about that. But I knew enough you know? I wanted to know more about you back then. I still want to know.But I wasn’t going to press. I knew communicating was hard enough. I wasn’t about to have you getting personal, with no way to talk.”
Then Airi grew quiet, as if thinking things over. “I have only been scared twice in this lifetime. Once, when Natron took us into the rift after Fangite was promoted, and everything happened. And the other time was when that youma slipped by my watch and got into the cave.” He admitted softly. “If I had to chose which was scarier, it would’ve been the second one.” Finding Evan liked that had been heartbreaking. If he’d just been more attentive… “You know… You were the first youma.. I ever got close to. I didn’t like being around them normally. I still don’t… But you… You were different.” And he didn’t know or understand why.
“I try not to think of what she could do. To me or Fangite… But yes.. I worry.”
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Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2017 8:08 am
Evan cast another glance at Airi. “People don’t have a hard time trusting me, and I was a youma for a while. People have been really nice to me. I mean, I haven’t told a lot of people, but the ones that do know,” his voice trailed off and he seemed like he was deep in thought for a few seconds before he shrugged again. “They’ve just been great. And they’d be great to you, too. I don’t know how you can think you wouldn’t adapt to it—you’d be fine.”
Even with Airi next to him, he couldn’t help but skim the area for any sign of trouble again. “You are you, you define yourself. But what form you take gives you different opportunities to do that. Like me,” he gestured to himself, “I’m going to open a food truck. My friend, Cambria, she’s been helping me with it. And my other friend, Tobias, he’s been supporting me, too.” He was careful not to mention Zack, just because he was still wary about saying that name around anyone related to the Negaverse. He didn’t know exactly what had happened, but he knew that somehow the Negaverse had compromised Zack’s identity—and no matter how much he trusted Airi, he wasn’t going to take any chances that it would get out somehow that he was still living with a Zac.
“I couldn’t cook for anyone if I was a youma. But that’s my passion. Cooking makes me feel good, you know? When I’m in the kitchen, I’m in control. Everything that happens is because I want it, and no one can mess me up. I’m safest there.”
He was dangerously close to rambling and had to bite his tongue before he continued.
“I can go out and do things, I can have fun. I can pursue my passions. I get to make the decisions in my life. I didn’t get to do any of that when I was a youma, and I’m just worried that maybe you’ve been one for so long that you’ve forgotten what it’s like to have the ability to do that. To not be stuck in the shadows, or worrying about following orders, or wondering if your friends are going to go out to patrol and if they’re going to make it back alive or in one piece. But, if you’re afraid of what could happen to you, or Fangite…”
There was a lump in his throat and he was speaking before he’d really even considered the words. “Well, I just think you could both be happier and safer if you weren’t dealing with that, and if he’s what’s holding you back, I’ll tell him that he should leave the Negaverse, too. I’ve got a whole list of arguments, I could write up a whole speech for it. And I’d do it, if it meant you got to be safe. If it meant you got to really live your life. Live it the way you want to, I mean. Not the way you have to, just because you’re a youma.”
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